In the Eastern Church, the dormition ("falling asleep") of
Mary began to be commemorated in the 6th century. The observance
gradually spread to the West, where it became known as the feast of
the Assumption. By the 13th century most Catholic theologians
accepted the belief of the Assumption. However this doctrine did not
become an article of faith until recent times, when Pope Pius XII
declared it a dogma of the Catholic faith: “The Immaculate Mother
of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her
earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus
Deus, Pope Pius XII, 1950).

Not Taught in Scripture

Catholic authors readily admit that the Assumption is not
explicitly taught in Scripture.[1] In the biblical
narrative, Mary is last mentioned in Acts 1 where she is found
praying with the other disciples before Pentecost. After that, the
Bible is silent about her life and death.

Naturally Catholic writes refer to various scriptures to
demonstrate the possibility of this doctrine, and that it is was
‘fitting’ that Mary should be assumed to heaven. These efforts
fall short of biblical proof. Consider some examples:

Genesis 3:15 -- "And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." It is argued that Mary,
“most intimately associated with him in that struggle against
the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium, would
finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and
death.” We notice, however, that it is the seed, Jesus, rather
that the woman, who bruised the serpent’s head. His resurrection
is the sure sign of Messiah’s triumph over the Devil. Together
with all Christians, Mary would also benefit from Christ’s
victory according to God’s plan of salvation at the
“resurrection of life.” That is still a future event.

Luke 1:28 -- "And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women." Bodily assumption is said to be the
natural effect of being highly favoured or full of grace. However,
the same word translated “full of grace” (Greek, charitoo)
is applied to all believers in Ephesians 1:6. Yet, no-one
suggests that every believer should be assumed bodily into heaven
soon after death!

Revelation 12:1 -- "And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." A Catholic author
writes: “Mary's coronation implies her preceding bodily
assumption.” He wrongly assumes that this “woman” is Mary
and ignores the problems of such interpretation. For example, the
woman of Revelation, “being with child cried, travailing
in birth, and pained to be delivered” (Revelation 12:2);
whereas Catholics believe that Mary “gave birth to her Son without
pain” as Pope Alexander III stated (Virgin Wholly Marvelous,
Peter Brookby,ed., The Ravengate Press, 1981). The early Church
Fathers identified the woman with the church, not Mary.

None of these and similar scriptures actually prove the bodily
assumption. As Pope Pius XII commented, “Often there are
theologians and preachers who, following in the footsteps of the
holy Fathers, have been rather free in their use of events
and expressions taken from Sacred Scripture to explain their belief
in the Assumption.” They have been "rather free" indeed.
Yet he still based his argument on their writings, thereby conceding that there is no genuine biblical proof
of the Assumption.

Not Taught by the Church Fathers

The Catholic Encyclopaedia admits that the first “genuine”
written references to the Assumption come from authors who lived in
the sixth to the eight centuries:

“If we consult genuine writings in the East, it is mentioned in
the sermons of St. Andrew of Crete, St. John Damascene, St. Modestus
of Jerusalem and others. In the West, St. Gregory of Tours (De
gloria mart., I, iv) mentions it first.”[2]

St. Gregory lived in the sixth century, while St John Damascene
belongs to the eight. Thus for several centuries in the early
Church, there is no mention by the church fathers of the bodily
assumption of Mary. Irenaeus, Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose and the
others Church Fathers said nothing about it. Writing in 377 A.D.,
church father Epiphanius states that no-one knows Mary’s end.[3]

First Taught by Heretics

So, how did this teaching originate, given that it is absent in
the Sacred Scriptures and in the tradition of the early Church? The
belief of the assumption is based on apocryphal and spurious
writings.

“The belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is founded on
the apocryphal treatise De Obitu S. Dominae, bearing the name
of St. John, which belongs however to the fourth or fifth century.
It is also found in the book De Transitu Virginis, falsely
ascribed to St. Melito of Sardis, and in a spurious letter
attributed to St. Denis the Areopagite” (Catholic Encyclopaedia).

The first church author to speak on the assumption, Gregory of
Tours, based his teaching on the Transitus, perhaps because
he accepted it as genuine.[4]
However, in 459 A.D. Pope
Gelasius issued a decree that officially condemned and rejected the Transitus
along with several other heretical writings. Pope Hormisdas
reaffirmed this decree in the sixth century.[5]
It is
ironic that this heretical teaching was later promoted within the
Catholic Church, until eventually it was proclaimed a dogma in the
twentieth century.

Implications

a) The Roman Church solemnly warns anyone who “should dare
willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined
(i.e. the Assumption), let him know that he has fallen away
completely from the divine and Catholic Faith (Munificentissimus
Deus). How could this dogma be so important, seeing that it was
unknown in the early Church, even condemned by some Popes, and more
importantly, since it is absent from the Holy Scriptures? Some have
indeed fallen from the catholic faith. The apostates are those who
have invented this novel doctrine. The faithful are those who,
together with the early Christians, have remained steadfast in
upholding the faith of the New Testament.

b) In theory, the Roman Church teaches that:

The sacred deposit of the faith (the Word of God) is
contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

The Magisterium gives an authentic interpretation to the Word
of God but does not add to its contents.

"The apostles entrust the 'Sacred deposit' of the faith (the
depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to
the whole of the Church...[the Magisterium] teaches only what has
been handed on to it...All that it proposes for belief as being
divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith"
(Catechism, 84-86).

In practice, Rome teaches doctrines that are not drawn from the
deposit of faith. We have seen that the Assumption is neither found
in Scripture nor in the early church tradition. Certainly, if this
doctrine were transmitted by the apostles to the bishops of the
early church, we would expect to find at least some references to it
in the voluminous writings of the Fathers. But they are
conspicuously silent about this subject.

If you are a Catholic, ask yourself whether your implicit trust
in the Roman magisterium is warranted. The magisterium claims to
explain the Word of God, but at least in this case, it has gone far
beyond it's stated role. It is inventing novel doctrines beyond the
Word of God. Be careful! You may feel convinced that your faith is
built on a solid rock, when in fact, you are standing on sinking
sand.

c) Catholic theology has exalted Mary to the heavens, and it is
therefore natural for Catholics to look to her for their spiritual
needs. “O most sweet Lady and our Mother, thou hast already left
the earth and reached thy kingdom, where, as Queen, thou art
enthroned … From the high throne, then, to which thou art exalted,
turn, O Mary, thy compassionate eyes upon us, and pity us.” (Of
the Assumption of Mary, St. Alphonsus de Liguori).

Despite their protestations to the contrary, the sad truth is
that such Marian devotion detracts from that simple faith and
devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture explicitly speaks
of Jesus, who having lived a sinless life, died for sinners, was
buried and raised from the death, and after forty days He ascended
into Heaven, where He is reigning in glory, interceding for His
people. Compassion and pity is found only when we have recourse to
the Lord Jesus. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher
than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:25,26).

Endnotes

[1] "Since the
Immaculate Conception and Assumption are not explicit in
Scripture, Fundamentalists conclude that the doctrines are
false." Immaculate Conception and Assumption; Catholic
Answers. [back]

[2] St. Gregory of Tours
lived in the 6th Century; St. Andrew of Crete, St. Modestus of
Jerusalem lived in the 7th Century; St. John Damascene lived in
the 8th Century. [back]

[4] "The first
Church author to speak of the bodily ascension of Mary, in
association with an apocryphal transitus B.M.V., is St. Gregory
of Tours" (Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma
(Rockford: Tan, 1974), pp. 209-210). [back]

[5] Webster, W; Marian
Dogmas in The Church of Rome at the Bar of History; Banner of
Truth Trust, 1995; pp. 81-85. [back]